In Memoriam: Smash

This past weekend Smash came to end, bringing to an end a two-year saga that chronicled what it takes to get a musical to Broadway.

I myself am a big Broadway lover. Each year, I make several trips from DC to New York and binge-view three shows over a weekend. I'm able to do this thanks to an old student I.D. or a general rush policy. I don't make the kind of money it takes to see these shows full price.

All this to say, I was likely the target audience for the show; beyond my love for the great Great White Way, I'm also in the highly coveted 18-34 demographic.

Unlike many, I never hate-watched Smash. Sure, some episodes were better than others, but overall I was entertained every week. The big question many journalists and pop culture bloggers are asking themselves is "What went wrong?" How did a show with one of the strongest pilots in history, a plum time slot after The Voice, and great buzz thanks to a Stephen Spielberg producing credit crash and burn in a little watched Saturday time slot?

There are many theories out there and I want to throw my two cents in on the issue.

Casting

I know I'm going to put myself at the risk of some hate messages, but casting Katharine McPhee as Karen was a mistake. Sure she can sing and dance (somewhat), but her acting remained one-note regardless of her circumstances, whether that be awkwardly declining a marriage proposal ("I'm in tech!") or hanging out at her apartment. Her face rarely changed. This was a big problem as a central premise of most of the show was who should play Marilyn Monroe in the show within the show Bombshell. Megan Hilty as Ivy killed it every week (her performance of "Let's Be Bad" was a watershed TV moment in my opinion) and it was ludicrous to me that this question spanned almost two seasons.

The show also seemed to severely struggle with casting love interests for its characters. Tom (Christian Borle) never got a love interest he had an ounce of sexual chemistry with until Patrick Dillon (Luke Macfarlane) and he didn't show until the last episode. Same goes for many of the men they paired with Julia (Debra Messing).

Survey SAYS... It's A Sad Day

Misery and woe. It has finally happened.

Back in 2010, I made the mistake of deciding to embark on an epic quest. A journey so fraught with twisted deception and misinformation, I thought I would never be able to uncover the truth.

Now a brutal new kind of truth has arrived at my front door with terrible news: respected veteran actor and eventual game show host Svengali Richard Dawson has passed away at the age of 79. Hogan's Heroes, Family Feud, The Running Man, and Rowan And Martin's Laugh-In were but a few of his accomplishments from a long and impressive career.

Every time I get a kiss on the cheek for luck, I think of him. We'll miss you, Richard.



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Donna Summer, "Last Dance"

We lost our Disco Queen.

From 1978, here's Donna Summer with "Last Dance."

Enjoy!

Damn It, MCA

All weekend long, I tried my best to write something to commemorate the career of Beastie Boy Adam "MCA" Yauch. But nothing I came up with did the man, his music, his activism, and his life justice.

So in the end, I decided to let his music do the talking.

These are not the Beastie Boys' six best songs. But these are six songs that have meant a lot to me at certain stages of my life. And they're six songs that still kick much ass.

RIP MCA.

"Sabotage"

Jani Lane (1964-2011)

Jani Lane, former front man of Warrant, was found dead yesterday in California. Fact: Warrant was the only band I've ever seen live twice in one night, at two different venues.

Here's some Warrant:

"Heaven"

Rest In Peace, Sony Walkman

Yesterday Sony announced the retirement of an '80s icon: The Sony Walkman Cassette Player.


Ok, I was a little surprised that they were still selling portable cassette decks, but man oh man did these players change everything. Portable music player. For fairly cheap. Perfect for a girl whose family dragged her camping every summer. And it AUTO REVERSED so you didn't have to pop the tape out and flip it over. Brilliant, and handy when you're jammed in a minivan with your family and were covertly listening to music and not paying attention to whatever cannon monument they were talking about. (I've seen pretty much every cannon left in the United States. Thanks, Mom.)

Did they chew through batteries? Yes. Did we care? No! We were too busy making mixed tapes of music that we taped off the radio and listening to them through our own headphones. Duracells be damned!

Rest in peace, little Walkman. You were a good pal for a long time. My iPod's incredibly rad but you were there first.

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Gary Coleman Dead at 42

CNN is confirming this now, so I feel okay posting this.

From their website:

Coleman died of a brain hemorrhage at a Provo, Utah hospital, Friday afternoon, according to a hospital spokeswoman. The actor fell ill at his Santaquin, Utah, home Wednesday evening and was rushed by ambulance to a hospital, Coleman's spokesman had said in a statement earlier Friday.

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Ronnie James Dio (1942-2010)

So, What's Your Real Name?

"I had fifteen hundred dollars, a duffel bag, a dream and a five hundred dollar 1974 Volvo. My father thought I was crazy." --Keith Elam

Way back when I was a starving college student studying journalism in the big city, I wrote for an online music magazine. Run by a friend of mine, it was a small-scale operation, but it afforded me the opportunity to meet, interview and photograph some very cool musicians, most notably Henry Rollins, The Reverend Horton Heat and Guru, one of hip hop's most legendary MCss.

I jumped at the chance to interview Guru as he passed through town, and trudged my way through the season's first big snowstorm - on public transit - to get to the venue. I was wet, cold and snotty-nosed mess by the time I reached the venue he was performing at that night, but I didn't care. One of my best friends, a hip-hop aficionado in his own right, had gotten me hooked on Gang Starr a few years prior, and I was unabashedly star struck at the thought of meeting the outfit's MC, let alone interviewing the guy.

It was an interview that I will never, ever forget – because Guru was one of the most interesting and engaging people I have ever had the chance to interview, and because he put me in my place before I'd even asked my second question.

On to the Great Rock n' Roll Swindle in the Sky: RIP Malcolm McLaren

They burst on to the music scene in the late 70s, trailing safety-pins, anarchy and a keen sense of anti-establishment behind them. They shocked the good people of Britain with their lyrics and awed with their garish attire, spiked hair and studded armbands. Though their punk rock reign was brief – an ill-fated venture from the get-go, if you will – Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Glen Matlock and later, Sid Vicious, a.k.a. The Sex Pistols, notoriously secured their position in music’s history as five of punk’s founding fathers, alongside their manager, Malcolm McLaren.